Page:Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin (Pennell, 1885).djvu/225

Rh have died in more orthodox beliefs, lie those who at least might each of them have said,—

Mary's death was followed by exhaustive discussion not only of her work but of her character. The result was, as Dr. Beloe affirms, "not very honourable to her fair fame as a woman, whatever it might be to her reputation as an author."

It was to silence all calumnies that Godwin wrote his Memoirs, and this was undoubtedly the wisest way to answer Mary's critics. As he says of Marguerite in St. Leon, "The story of her life is the best record of her virtues. Her defects, if defects she had, drew their pedigree from rectitude of sentiment and perception, from the most generous sensibility, from a heart pervaded and leavened with tenderness." That truth is mighty above all things is shown by this story to have been her creed. By it she regulated her feelings, her thoughts, and her deeds. Whether her principles and conduct be applauded or condemned, she must always be honoured for her integrity of motive, her fearlessness of action, and her faithful devotion to the cause of humanity.